Victims of personal injury should not be afraid to come forward and request compensation to help cover their stacking medical expenses.
Personal injury is a broad category of legal action that can cover a series of events, commonly instigated by a negligent party, that lead to pain and injury. Negligence can be enacted by another person, company, manufacturer, or legal entity.
Singh Ahluwalia Attorneys at Law has decades of combined experience and has worked on personal injury cases that have resulted in compensation for our clients.
Our experienced personal injury lawyers will provide a confidential and no-obligation case review to discuss the strategies available for receiving compensation. Call (559) 878-4958 or contact us online to schedule an appointment today.
Common Types of Personal Injury Claims
Personal injury claims aim to find compensation for victims when they are affected by the negligence of another party.
Being negligent and causing injury to another party is considered a “tort” in the American court system or a type of harm for which someone can be held accountable.
No matter the nature of the event, Singh Ahluwalia Attorneys at Law are here to help hold those at fault accountable for your injuries. Common examples of personal injury cases we handle include the following.
Motor Vehicle Collisions
Encompassing Car Accidents, Truck Accidents, Boating Accidents, and Motorcycle Accidents, motor vehicle collisions are one of the most common forms of personal injury. They can involve multiple parties and vary in magnitude.
From fender benders to catastrophic accidents with fatalities, motor vehicle accidents cause a lot of pain and injuries that can change a victim’s life forever.
Premises Liability — Including Negligent Apartment or Building Security and Slip and Fall Incidents
Landlords, whether owning residential or commercial property, carry liability insurance in case of an accident on their property. More specifically, liability insurance covers the property owner in an accident involving a guest who tripped, fell, or got hurt.
Victims of negligent apartment or building security and slip and fall incidents should know that landlords must provide a habitable home, keep liability insurance, and reasonably attend to their property needs, including safety, when a history of safety risk has been established.
Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death
Hospitals and medical workers are meant to provide medical care to the sick and injured. Unfortunately, there are cases where a patient was neglected, was not given medication, or was forgotten to be fed. Patients may also suffer from delayed diagnosis, missed diagnosis, or mistakes like wrong-side surgery.
Even worse, these negligent acts can lead to that patient suffering and, ultimately, passing away. This kind of fatal professional negligence qualifies as a wrongful death and medical malpractice.
Defective Products
Consumers purchase products with the expectation that they will function safely. However, that is not always the case.
Defective products can lead to injuries, like burns and lacerations or even broken bones. Some products, like ladders and motor vehicles, have the potential to cause serious medical trauma and even death.
Aggravated Assault
Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault who sustain an injury can file a personal injury claim. While they are often tied to criminal cases and investigations, they also come with different statutes of limitations because of their civil nature.
It is important for these cases that victims discuss their case with an attorney as soon as possible to ensure that they are within California’s statute of limitations.
Traumatic Brain Injury
An event that causes a violent jolt to the head can lead to a brain injury. Unfortunately, even with our medical advancements diagnosing brain injuries can still be difficult, if not challenging.
Brain injury symptoms are not the same for everyone and can vary widely. What makes matters worse is that those symptoms are not necessarily present immediately after injury.
Depending on the patient, the symptoms can take days or weeks to appear and may not ever resolve.
Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal Cord injuries occur when pieces of bones, ligament tears, or damaged or compressed discs contact or dislodge the spinal cord. These injuries are more serious because they compromise the body’s ability to send signals between the brain and other parts, like organs.
What Claims Are Included in Personal Injury Cases?
Personal injury covers not only the past costs of treating physical injuries sustained by the victim because of another negligent party but also any additional future medical costs, lost wages, property damage, and more.
Injuries and Future Costs
The physical injuries sustained by another negligent party do not always heal quickly.
There are times when the injuries are so severe that it takes many years for the victim to fully recover and do the activities they did before the negligence occurred — and, sometimes, this outcome is never reached at all.
The injured party can face abdominal pain, back pain, neck pain, chest injuries, and disabilities that can impact their ability to do chores, work, play with their children, and do the things they love.
Injuries do not create just medical bills; the injured are often taking time off because they cannot work in their current state. In many cases, this can lead to a loss of wages if the employee does not have enough sick leave or paid time off.
As a result, some injured feel obligated to take the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, which brings their wages down to 60% of their earnings before they were injured.
A personal injury claim can compensate them for any loss of income or benefits, including any paid time off offered by their position that must be used in order to recover.
Pain and Suffering
Pain is not just physical. It can take a brutal toll on the victim’s mental state, leading to decreased joy and quality of life.
Suffering is considered to be a form of damages that can be claimed in a personal injury case.
How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Assist With Your Case
Facing legal matters can be challenging, but with the guidance of a reputable personal injury attorney, claimants will find that they have all the steps of the process laid out right before them.
Working with a California personal injury attorney will help ease the process and provide legal counsel throughout all steps of filing a personal injury claim.
- Identifying Negligence During an Event Causing Injury — All cases start with identifying the event that leads to injuries due to negligence. Negligence can involve careless actions, like reckless driving, and negligent inactions, like medical malpractice.
- Filing a Claim — When the event happens, and the injured party begins to work with their legal team, they can file a personal injury claim against the negligent party. Claimants are requested to speak to a legal team before talking to any insurance companies. Liability claims will likely be requested by other parties’ insurance companies.
- Declaring Damages and Formal Demands — Legal teams and victims work together to produce a demand letter that includes all damages, future medical expenses, and financial losses. This letter will be sent to the opposing party’s insurer.
- Negotiation and Possible Escalation — When the demand letter is received by the opposite party, there is a chance that the insurance will object to the final value, or they may decline to cover certain types of costs. In some cases, they will refuse outright to pay for the damages identified in the demand letter, either because they feel their policyholder was not liable or their policy contract does not require them to cover the incident. Insurance companies are required to provide a prompt response in no less than 15 days, as per California state law. However, dealing with insurance companies can be challenging. The opposing party’s insurer has the right to accept the letter’s demands or deny certain line items. However, the insurer also has the right to deny outright to pay for the damages listed on the demand letter. In these cases, having an experienced legal team by your side is best.
It is important at this point to be careful when having conversations, even with your own insurance, as stating the wrong thing can work against you in your case. Additionally, the injured should not opt to allow recorded conversations or giving statements.
This is especially prudent in cases that may likely escalate. While negotiations will be the first attempt to reach a settlement with the other party’s insurance, it may not always be the case.
Possible Lawsuit and Jury Trial in Cases That Don’t Resolve Through Claims
When a settlement cannot be reached, a lawsuit is usually filed against the at-fault party and likely their insurer. Evidence detailing the negligence that caused an injury to the claimant is critical, as is the credible risk of a court finding not in the liable party’s favor.
These can pressure the other party to admit liability and offer a settlement rather than allowing the case to continue to trial.
In the event no settlement is reached, Singh Ahluwalia Attorneys at Law have the trial experience and legal knowledge needed to effectively litigate cases, meaning we have confidence that we can assist you in the event your case proceeds to a jury trial.
Injured? Thinking of Filing a Personal Injury Claim? We Can Help.
Were you injured because of someone else’s negligence? You don’t have to face pain or discomfort at your own expense or deal with the claims process alone.
Singh Ahluwalia Attorneys at Law have helped many file personal injury claims and can maximize your chances of receiving compensation for incurred costs and injuries sustained due to someone else’s negligence.
Our personal injury lawyers have years of combined experience handling insurance companies and finding justice to get the compensation you deserve. Call us at (559) 878-4958 or contact us online today for a free, no-obligation consultation over the phone or in person at our local office.
